Fresh air intake for railway cars



Jan. 5, 1931 w J, AbDEN 2,061,144

FRESH AIR INTAKE FOR RAILWAY CARS Filed Sept. 5, 1935 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 22 23 ll 55 Iii:

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Jan. 5, 1937. w. J. MADDEN FRESH AIR INTAKE FOR RAILWAY CARS Filed Sept. 5, 1935 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 I N V EN TOR: Wmmm Lnmlm WITNESSES:

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Patented Jan. 5, 1 937 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE FRESH AIR INTAKE FOR RAILWAY CARS Application September 5, 1935, Serial No. 39,292

1 Claim.

This invention relates to a fresh air intake for a. railway car, and is particularly useful when combined with air conditioning apparatus, though it may be applied generally to railway cars for many different purposes.

. The principal object of the invention is to provide a form of intake for conducting air from the outside atmosphere to the interior of the car, so designed as to create a natural draft into the car, irrespective of the direction of travel of the car, and without requiring any adjustments or attention by an operator.

Almore specific object of the invention is to provide in an intake of the character described automatic closure means which permit only unidirectional fiow of air, and which selectively render effective either one of two oppositely directed intake cowls, depending upon the direction of travel of the car.

A further object of the invention is to provide a form of intake which constitutes a permanent and fixed part of the car, and of such construction that it can readily be incorporated within the structure of the car, and which is characized by simplicity and economy of operation.

Other objects and advantages characterizing my invention will become more fully apparent from the description hereinafter set forth of one example or embodiment thereof as applied to a railway passenger car, having reference to the accompanying drawings. Of the drawings:

Fig. I represents a side elevation of one end of a railway car embodying my invention.

Fig. II represents a plan view of the same, with portions of the roof of the car cut away to reveal the location of the fresh air intake.

Fig. III represents an enlarged plan view, with parts of the car cut away, and showing details of the fresh air intake and air conditioning equipment associated therewith.

Fig. IV represents a longitudinal cross section of the car, taken as indicated by the lines IV-IV of Fig. III.

Fig. V represents an enlarged cross section of the automatic closure means, taken as indicated by the lines VV of Fig. III and showing the same in an open position; and

Fig. VI represents a similar view of the closure means, showing the same in closed position.

With reference to the drawings, the railway car selected for illustration is an ordinary form of passenger car, having an overhead compartment I located above the vestibule 2. At each end of the car projecting outwardly from the side walls 3, there are ventilating cowls 4a, 4b in the form of elbows, one of said cowls facing rearwardly and the other facing forwardly, so that irrespective of the direction of travel of the car, fresh air from the atmosphere will be introduced into one or the other of the cowls. The inner ends of the cowls 4a, 4b are cross-connected within the compartment l by a duct 5 which has a portion extending transversely of the car and an extension 6 for conducting the air received from either cowl 4a, 4b to the interior of the car through air conditioning apparatus.

The air conditioning equipment shown in the drawings is similar to that described in my pending application for U. S. Letters Patent, Serial No. 39,291, filed September 5, 1935. Generally, it comprises a filter 1 disposed between the duct 5 and its extension 6, a heat transfer device 8 including a heater 9 and a cooling unit I0, adapted for alternate use depending upon the season of the year, and a second independent cooling unit comprehensively designated at H to which air is continuously supplied by a fan l2 actuated by means of a motor l3. In the summer season, air received in the fresh air intake passes through the duct extension 6 and through the cooling unit l0 into a chamber [4, shown most clearly in Fig. IV, and from thence passes through a grille I5 into the passageway l6 inside the vestibule door l'l. Air is continuously withdrawn from the passenger space of the car by means of the operation of the fan l2, such air being caused to pass through the passageway l6 and upwardly through a grille l8 into the supplementary conditioning unit I I, and from thence it is discharged through a grille I9 back to the passenger space, following the direction of the arrows in Fig. III.

While I have selected for illustration herein a particular type of conditioning equipment involving the use of two separate cooling units, it will be apparent that such description is merely representative of one convenient embodiment of my invention in a railway car.

At each end of the cross-connecting duct 5, closure means 20 are provided for automatically rendering inoperative the cowl 4a or 4b which faces oppositely to the direction of travel of the car by sealing the exit of air therethrough. The closure means 20 are illustrated in detail in Figs. V and VI. Each closure means comprises a series of movable shutters 2| pivoted eccentrically on pins 22. The shutters 2| are all connected together by a rod 23 which has limited lateral movement confined between the sides 24 of the opening 25 in which the shutters are disposed. As clearly shown in Fig. V, when a current of air passes through either cowl 4a, 4b towards the duct 5 in the direction indicated by the arrows, all of the shutters 2| are swung together in a counterclockwise direction about their pivot pins 22 to the open position. With the shutters 2| fully opened, the rod 23 strikes the side wall 24, limiting the extent of the swinging movement of the shutters. When a reverse flow of air strikes the eccentric shutters 2|, they are closed with clockwise rotation in the manner illustrated in Fig. VI, and the opening 25 between the corresponding cowl da, 42) and the cross-connecting duct 5 is effectively sealed. Gravity assists the closing of the shutters.

Accordingly, it will be apparent that when the railway car moves in the direction indicated by the arrow in Fig. III, air is scooped from the atmosphere by the cowl 4a and is caused to pass through the closure means 20 associated with that cowl into the duct 5. The pressure of the air in the cross-connecting duct 5, as well as the vacuum which may exist in the cowl 4b, causes an automatic closing of the closure means 20 associated with the duct 5, and prevents incoming air from passing into one cowl and. out of the other. Obviously, when the car travels in the opposite direction, air is admitted through the cowl 4b into the connecting duct 5 and is prevented from passing out through the cowl 4a.

From the above description it will be apparent that the use of cowls and automatic closure means constructed in the manner of this invention causes an induced flow of air into the interior of the car from the outside atmosphere, ir-

respective of the direction of travel, and yet re-- quires no adjustment nor attention, the shutters comprising the only moving parts which are required, and these operating automatically to control the admission of air.

It will also be apparent that the apparatus of this invention may be readily incorporated in almost any type of railway car, and that it is of simple and. economical construction.

While I have described my invention with reference to one embodiment thereof in a railway passenger car, it will be apparent that the form of the apparatus herein described and illustrated may be varied to considerable extent without departing from the spirit of the invention as defined in the annexed claim.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

In a railway car, a fresh air intake comprising oppositely directed wind cowls, said wind cowls being formed to lead air into the car in a direction substantially longitudinal of the car, and automatic closure means associated with each cowl, said closure means comprising a plurality of eccentrically pivotally attached shutters having curved cross sections to facilitate automatic operation and to direct the air introduced into the car, a guide rod pivotally attached to theedges of said shutters, and a stop surface positioned to engage an end of said rod when said shutters take their fully open position, said closure means in its closed position sealing its cowl against outgoing air.

1 WILLIAM J. MADDEN. 

